We’ve always believed that vaping should be
available to all who want to try it as part of living a healthier life so we’re
delighted that today’s post is focusing on vaping and accessibility,
specifically vaping while visually impaired.

We were lucky enough to interview one of our
longtime V2 customers, Lulu, about her vaping journey and what brands should
bear in mind when developing vaping devices to ensure they are accessible to
everybody.

1. First of all,
could you tell us a little bit about your vaping journey? When did you first
try vaping and what steps have to taken to get to where you are today?

I’m 51 and I’ve used nicotine since I started
smoking just after my twenty-first birthday. Like millions before me I
thought smoking was glamorous, can you believe it? For me it turned into
burned holes in my best dress, a house that always smelled no matter how much I
air freshened, and a total inability to stop the nicotine craving, even if for
a while I was able to quit.

Over the years I tried to quit countless
times. I’d manage it for a few days, a few weeks, sometimes even a few
months, but I’d always go back because the craving never ever left me. As
society’s disapproval of smokers grew and grew I became more and more painfully
self-conscious, I hated that I smoked and hated that I couldn’t stop.

One night in 2010, this is going to sound weird
but it’s absolutely true, I was dreaming of a cigarette which plugged into my
computer. It didn’t give out any smoke, it just tasted like a
cigarette. I woke up in the middle of the night, rushed down to the computer,
looked up ‘electric cigarette’ on Google and there it was. The e-cig. I
was flabbergasted!

The two piece cigalike was what I started with
for the next few years. I had two batteries, a charger which I plugged into my
computer and I kept my batteries and carts in a carry case. However, I got
fed up with batteries and the touch control charger case came into being - a
terror to the visually challenged. If you can’t see it’s absolutely
impossible, believe me we’ve tried it.

By this time I was back from America, several
years on, living in England with my present husband who is also totally blind
and who I’d also introduced to vaping. We both got fed up with always
running out of batteries, always having to charge them, losing chargers, little
flat cases falling down sofa cushions. Why can’t someone invent a nice
e-cig that charges wirelessly when you put it back on its little ashtray, we
wondered? Then we found the passthrough lead, or the PowerCig.

We live on our computers, they are our work and our
social life, so they’re on from the minute we get up to the minute we go to
bed. So the PowerCig is perfect for us. Of course, nothing is
absolutely perfect. Something to rest it on would be nice, so it doesn’t
fall off the desk when not in use. But it’s always charged, you can use
carts or a clearomiser with it, it’s easy to replace if you get a loose
connection; it’s our perfect solution.

I love it that non-smoking friends can come
here, we both vape but our friends can breathe fresh air. I’m much healthier
now, my lungs are clearer, I don’t cough anymore, neither does my
husband. Vaping has just been an all around good experience for us
both.

At the end of last year I took a huge step
forward. I had heard of the new flavours of e-liquid from XEO. I
adore fruit flavours, hate the taste of tobacco, so I was dying to try them but
didn’t think I would be able to fill a tank or a blank cartridge. With
amazing help from the V2 staff I learned how to fill an ex-blank. Now I
use XEO Aroma e-liquids all the time and I love them. I can even mix flavours!

2. What are a few
things you think vaping brands need to understand in regards to vaping while
visually impaired?

Vaping is an attractive alternative to smoking
for visually impaired people on a number of levels. With rampant
unemployment in our community, vaping is not only safer and healthier but much
cheaper than cigarettes. I’ve had a lot of people ask me about
it. People want to get started, but smoking is a kind of taboo subject that
no one wants to talk about much. If you smoke you’re almost looked on as
some kind of third class citizen. It’s assumed by non-smokers that you should
just be able to stop! Bam! Like that.

In the blind community you can get help on
accessibility issues on subjects from computing to eating in public to caring
for a baby to setting up your iPhone. But try finding out how to start
vaping if you’re blind. What’s out there, how do I use it? There’s no
help for us, and staff from the various companies aren’t trained in helping us,
they do their very best, but sometimes, as in the case of LCD displays on
charger cases, there isn’t much they can do.

Firstly then, vaping brands need to understand
that not everyone can use an LCD display. These things are great to have,
we’re a tiny part of the world and I’m the last person to think the whole world
should pander to our needs, but I have dealt with companies where a touch
control charger case was the only way to charge batteries. Secondly,
whatever kind of battery charging there is, the indicators are always
lights. Some of us may have gadgets that can detect lights; apps on our
phones or light detectors which can see LCD lights, I myself do
not. Knowing how long a battery takes to charge is important, especially
if the battery will discharge again if it is left in too long.

Most importantly, all vaping brands need to
understand that when most blind people come to them for help, the most
frustrating thing they can ever hear is: “You may need a sighted person to help
you with this.” In the vast majority of cases, there is no sighted person
to help. That is why they are asking you!

3. In the same vein,
what are the main things vaping brands can do to ensure their visually impaired
customers can enjoy a rewarding and safe vaping experience?

Vaping is, as far as I have tried it, safe and
rewarding for a blind person. I have not entered the territory of box mods
and sub ohm, I feel no need to. If brands understand that we need to do things
for ourselves and can’t fall back on sighted help we usually do not have, then
just raising awareness that little bit would make vaping a much easier road to
go down and a much less steep learning curve for some blind people.

One more thought I had concerning e-liquid
bottles. The ones I use all have a needle dropper and I rarely overfill,
but if I lose count of the drops or am not concentrating I can put in too much.
I wonder if a pipette method has ever been tried, where a bulb is used to hold
exactly as much as would fill a clearomiser.

4. What would your
advice be to any visually impaired people who want to try vaping but aren’t
sure where to start?

Firstly, don’t be confused by all the
terminology, there is lots of information out there now so research, research,
research. Even in 2010, when I was just starting, I did that and it paid
off.

Don’t listen to vaping snobs who think that if you don’t have a huge
box mod, you’re a wimp. Use what feels comfortable for you. Don’t give up if
you can’t immediately find a way to do something.

If the vaping device you’ve chosen seems to be
making life too difficult, don’t buy it and choose another. If you’re
unsure contact customer services and ask questions, there’s nothing worse than
getting that kit out of the box and trying to figure out what all the bits are
meant to do. If you ask first, then you’ll know.

There are some really good vaping channels on
Youtube. Don’t take everything they say as gospel; opinions are like noses,
everyone has one. But they do box openings on a lot of those channels and
tell you exactly what’s in a box, and this is often very helpful.

I would say to concentrate on flavour; cloud
chasing or big clouds aren’t going to mean anything to us. There are some
amazing flavours out there, if you like tobacco you can have some wonderful
blends, or just your favourite American Red. If you are a fruit fiend like
me, the sky’s the limit.

I would advise always keeping your vaping things
in a carry case, I’ve lost more things that I even like to think of by not
doing this. Also, if you have a guide dog, make sure you keep anything to do
with vaping well out of its way. Things safely shut in a case can’t drop on the
floor for interested noses to sniff at or interested tongues to lick.

You might decide to start with the pre-filled
cartridges, the two-piece e-cigarette models are the easiest, but don’t be
scared of e-liquid like I was, you’re missing out on so much if you don’t try
it. It’s really not hard to do, maybe one day I’ll get to go into that
more in depth, but you won’t end up with a flood of liquid like I was afraid I
would.

Conversely, if you try e-liquid and find it’s
not for you, don’t be bullied into using what you don’t feel comfortable
with. The most important thing is that you have a safe, easy, rewarding vaping
experience and stay off tobacco for good.

*

We want to say a huge thank you to Lulu for such
an informative post. We don’t doubt that this will be a huge help to any
visually impaired people who are keen to try vaping and we’re incredibly
grateful to have Lulu as one of our customers, she’s a wonderful part of vaping
community.

As a company we are always learning and
listening to feedback from our customers and from the vaping community as a
whole. Want to make vaping an accessible option for everybody who is keen to
try it and we are more than happy to discuss any ways that we can make
purchasing or using our products simple and safe.

TESTIMONIALS FROM VAPERS

Really impressed with the build of the series 7, does the job excellent battery life and the dry herb vape is great, two weeks smoke free so far one more week and it's paid for it's self. Just as well as I'm going to need a new e liquid chamber before long.

Nick R

Very impressed with the quality of the V2 pro 3, vapour throat hit and I haven't touched a cigarette for almost a month now...

Ming

This is my third time getting my supply from V2 UK, the most recent being the V2 Pro S3. They have the best customer service around, fast delivery and great products...

Reno

I have purchased three Long Batteries (manual and automatic) so far and I must admit these are THE BEST cigalikes I have ever tried...

Ash

Very impressed, as a heavy tobacco smoker for over 20 years I have not felt the need for a normal roll-up The e liquid V2 Red is very good...

Wayne

I recommend you buy the cartridge pack that contains 10 different flavours, those cartridges will give you insight on which flavours you will stick to for a long time...

Rhodes

It's now three weeks since I stopped smoking tobacco and it's all down to this shisha pen! It has a good throat hit, produces lots of vapour and is really smooth...

Lily

I've been vaping v2 for 3 years, half way through I tried to find an alternative I could buy locally without post, just pop in and pick up, an expensive exercise but none lived upto the smooth flavour and I tried from cheap to expensive, but there were none that compared to V2.

Natalie A

YOU MUST BE OVER THE AGE OF 18 YEARS TO BUY AND/ OR USE ANY VAPOUR2 OR V2CIGS UK PRODUCT. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance derived from the tobacco plant, and products sold on this website are not cessation devices. The products on this website do not treat, diagnose, or cure any disease, physical ailment, or condition and should not be used by anyone in conflict with applicable local law. If you are allergic to nicotine, propylene glycol or any combination of inhalants, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have a heart-condition, diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma, you should consult your doctor before using nicotine products. E-Liquid should not be swallowed, seek medical help if this occurs. Wash with warm soapy water if e-liquid skin contact occurs.